Thu Nov 20, 2008 at 15:50:40 PM EST
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One of my favorite new bloggers, Cheri Thomas, has some concerns about the Barack Obama's cabinet picks. She is seeing a business as usual dynamic going on thus far. She writes, "I voted for Obama, because I preferred him over Hillary Clinton. If I wanted to see a Cabinet full of Washington insiders with Clinton Administration connections, I would have voted for Hillary Clinton. It is a disappointment that these appointments seem to be political paybacks, rather than what would be best for the country." Read more of her post and comments HERE
Obama is enlisting former Senate leader Tom Daschle as his health secretary. Hillary Rodham Clinton, a well-known Washington personality, seemed more likely than ever to be his secretary of state. [...] Obama is ready to announce that his attorney general will be Eric Holder, the Justice Department's No. 2 when Clinton's husband was president. Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff, is another veteran of the Clinton White House. [...]
Republicans sniped at what they saw as an unwelcome trend. Alex Conant, spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said, "Barack Obama is filling his administration with longtime Washington insiders." Source: Associated Press Read more on how can change occur if the Obama Administration puts Washington insiders in most Cabinet positions? There are lots of people, on the Right and left are wondering, what change will we get from veteran legislators? What do you think? |
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Thu Nov 20, 2008 at 13:46:33 PM EST
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| Michelle Singletary has a great article in The Washington Post regarding the bailout “Bait and Switch” and how Baltimore Congressman Elijah Cumming's questioning of Neel Kashkari, the interim assistant Treasury secretary for financial stability, had her hollering. She writes how she usually don't enjoy watching congressional hearings and how they are often packed with blustering, long-winded, self-serving speeches that are nap-inducing. She also writes about how a recent hearing before the domestic policy subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee was riveting. In part, it was because of remarks by Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.). 
The subject of the hearing was whether the Treasury Department was using bailout funds to increase foreclosure prevention, as Congress intended. It was Cummings's questioning of Neel Kashkari, the interim assistant Treasury secretary for financial stability, that had me hollering. During the hearing, Cummings said what I've been feeling for months. In straight-from-the-'hood vernacular, Cummings captured what has been done to American taxpayers. "Mr. Kashkari, in the neighborhood I grew up in, in the inner city of Baltimore, one of the things that you tried to do was make sure that you were not considered a chump," Cummings said. "And what 'chump' meant was that you didn't want people to see you as just somebody they could get over on." Corporate America is playing us like chumps. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and the folks he's assembled to try to get us out of the economic tempest are being played like chumps. Read More HERE AAPP: I have to agree Representative Cummings, Corporate America is playing us like chumps. But, the fact of the matter is he is part of the problem, you see, he is one of the 13 black lawmakers who switched from "no" to "yes" on the bailout bill vote. The question is why a majority of the The Congressional Black Caucus supported the bail out bill from the beginning? I guess Elijah Cummings, Donna Edwards and other Congressional Black Caucus members are the biggest chumps for supporting the bill when voters were saying no! |
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Thu Nov 20, 2008 at 13:11:34 PM EST
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I was going to write a post on Barack Obama and the recent comments by AL Qaeda’s #2, Ayman al-Zawahri, who recently stated that Barack Obama was a house negro and was the opposite of black leader Malcolm X. Then a had the opportunity to read a number of post. One of those post was by a good brother, Casey Gane-McCalla. You see Casey nailed the issues I wanted to talk about in his post, so I decided to re-post his article below. Good job Casey! Obama and Malcolm X: Far From Opposites 
Recently AL Qaeda’s #2, Ayman al-Zawahri declared that Barack Obama was an house negro and was the opposite of black leader Malcolm X. While many have compared Obama to Martin Luther King, not as many people have noted the differences and similarities between Obama and Malcolm X.
Many people may see Malcolm X and Barack Obama as opposites of each other in the sphere of black political figures. While Malcolm pushed for black nationalism, didn’t renounce violence, came across as very militant and scared white people, Obama has pushed for an inclusive nation that includes people of all backgrounds, pushed a message of hope and change, and came across as very amiable and acceptable to white people. However the comparison cannot be as cut and dry as that. Are we comparing the militant Nation of Islam disciple Malcolm X who railed against blue eyed devils or the Malcolm X who split with the Nation of Islam and renounced racism and met with Martin Luther King? Even if we ere to compare the nation of Islam’s Malcolm X to Barack Obama it is hard to cast them as opposites. Obviously one of the main differences between the two is the places and eras they grew up in. Malcolm X grew up in a time of segregation, police brutality, lynchings, and Jim Crow laws. These circumstances did a lot to shape his world view. As someone whose father was killed by the KKK and whose world views were shaped by the NOI, Malcolm had a lot of hostility towards white people and America in general. Barack Obama grew up in the multi-racial society of Hawaii and later in equally diverse, Indonesia, where he was minority in more ways than one, being both American and of African blood. It wasn’t until Malcolm X went on a pilgrimage to Mecca that he abandoned the principles of racism upon meeting people of all colors who prayed to the same God as him and saw that they were good and decent people. Barack Obama grew up within that same diversity, with two white grandparents and a white mother who helped raise him, as well as with people from all sorts of backgrounds so he probably came to the realization of the futility of racism earlier in life. However even the militant Nation of Islam has endorsed Obama. Farrakhan has spoken very kindly of Obama, even referring to him as the Messiah and the hope of the entire world. With the leading figure for black nationalism in America praising the man who is now the President of the country he once demonized, the black nationalism of Malcolm X may have been replaced by inclusion in the greater United States of America. This is not to say that the struggle is over, but that it has taken a different form and philosophy. Obviously Obama’s message of hope, unity and diversity counters against Malcolm X’s ‘blue eyed devil rhetoric.’ However the views that Malcolm X had after leaving the Nation of Islam are more in line with Obama’s. Here are some quotes from Malcolm after his epiphany of race in Mecca. I realized racism isn’t just a black and white problem. It’s brought bloodbaths to about every nation on earth at one time or another. In many parts of the African continent I saw white students helping black people. Something like this kills a lot of argument. I did many things as a [Black] Muslim that I’m sorry for now. I was a zombie then — like all [Black] Muslims — I was hypnotized, pointed in a certain direction and told to march. I am not a racist…. In the past I permitted myself to be used…to make sweeping indictments of all white people, the entire white race and these generalizations have caused injuries to some whites who perhaps did not deserve to be hurt. Because of the spiritual enlightenment which I was blessed to receive as a result of my recent pilgrimage to the Holy city of Mecca, I no longer subscribe to sweeping indictments of any one race. I am now striving to live the life of a true…Muslim. I must repeat that I am not a racist nor do I subscribe to the tenants of racism. I can state in all sincerity that I wish nothing but freedom, justice and equality, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all people. The last lines that Malcolm X said sound like something out of the declaration of independence or a Barack Obama speech. Here Malcolm, like Obama and MLK is tracing his struggle to himself and black people in general to n American struggle, a struggle based on the same principles that America was founded on. Read More HERE |
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Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 16:54:07 PM EST
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| Eric Holder has been tapped to be U.S. Attorney General. Will he be our 1st black attorney general? The NY Times reports President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team has signaled to Eric H. Holder Jr., a senior official in the Justice Department in the Clinton administration, that he will be chosen as attorney general, but no final decision has been made, people involved in the process said Tuesday.  Susan Walsh/Associated Press Eric Holder, Jr., a former deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration, was a legal adviser to the Obama campaign. Mr. Holder would be the first African-American to serve as the nation’s top law enforcement official. As a top adviser to Mr. Obama, he has long been considered the front-runner for the job of attorney general because of his extensive record as a prosecutor and a judge and a well-honed reputation inside Washington. Mr. Obama’s advisers appear to have overcome concerns that Mr. Holder’s involvement in a presidential pardon scandal as President Bill Clinton left office in 2001 might cloud his nomination for the job. Word that Mr. Holder was likely to be nominated as attorney general leaked out as Mr. Obama also began settling on other members of his team and signaling his policy priorities upon taking office. More HERE AAPP: I had the opportunity to have an exclusive interview with the next U.S. Attoney General at the Democratic National Convention. I will upload it to Youtube shortly. WAPO has a summary and video of a defining speech Holder gave before the American Constitution Society in June on the responsibility of Americans to preserve and protect our Constitution and reaffirm the principle of rule of law to its rightful, central place in our society. AAPP: I have to say I like Mr. Holder and think he will do a solid job at the Department of Justice. Check out what he had to say about preserving and protecting our Constitution and reaffirming the principle of rule of law: 
"I never thought I would see the day," Holder said, "when a Justice Department would claim that only the most extreme infliction of pain and physical abuse constitutes torture and that acts that are merely cruel, inhuman and degrading are consistent with United States law and policy, that the Supreme Court would have to order the president of the United States to treat detainees in accordance with the Geneva Convention, never thought that I would see that a president would act in direct defiance of federal law by authorizing warrantless NSA surveillance of American citizens. This disrespect for the rule of law is not only wrong, it is destructive in our struggle against terrorism. . . . "Our government authorized the use torture, approved of secret electronic surveillance against American citizens, secretly detained American citizens without due process of law, denied the writ of habeas corpus to hundreds of accused enemy combatants, and authorized the use of procedures that violate both international law and the United States Constitution. "Now, I do not question the motives of patriotism of those responsible for these policies. But this does nothing to mitigate the fact that these steps were wrong when they were initiated and they are wrong today. "We owe the American people a reckoning." <!-- sphereit end --> AAPP: Your right Mr. Holder, Your right! Meanwhile, Like many million Americans, I just received an email from David Plouffe, Campaign Manager, for Barack Obama. He asked me to take a few minutes and help share my campaign experience and my thoughts on the best way to keep supporting his campaign for change.
In noted the inauguration is just 62 days away, and as President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden prepare to take office, they'll need my support more than ever.
He said, we've built an organization in our community and across the country that will continue to work for change -- whether it's by building grassroots support for legislation, backing state and local candidates, or sharing organizing techniques to effect change in our neighborhood.
He congratulated us for our hard work building this movement. He also said it's up to me and you to decide how we move forward.
He urged that I short survey and share my ideas. Well folks, here is the link. You may want to do the same thing. go to Barack Obama's website and let him know how you feel.
I have taken the liberty of going out into the streets of Maryland to get some thoughts on what should be done next by Barack Obama and his administration. Check out the thoughts of a number of young people on my Youtube Website. ----- AAPP: As the Obama campaign has noted, President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden have set an ambitious agenda, and they are going to make Change.gov a source of information, as well as a place to participate in the decisions being made about our government. Since the decisions we're making affect all Americans, we're counting on citizens from every walk of life to get involved. You can them right now by making sure your friends and neighbors know about Change.gov and give their input, too. Also check out Francis L. Holland's blog for his thoughts on the Change.gov website. |
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Tue Nov 18, 2008 at 15:53:27 PM EST
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| Word on the street for some time has been that Julian Bond won't seek re-election as NAACP chairman. Yes, the old guard is finally moving on. The Baltimore Sun reports, Bond — who is 68 — said in a written statement that it had always been his plan to serve as board chairman until the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's centennial, which will be under way when his term ends in February. He added that he was ready to let a new generation of leaders take over. 
In a letter to the board, Bond wrote that he would remain on the board and would seek another term as a board member when his current three-year term expires.
The NAACP's chief executive officer, Benjamin Jealous, said in a statement that the Baltimore-based organization looked forward to Bond's continued involvement. ------ AAPP says: Everyone knows I have not been a big fan of the NAACP in it's most recent past. Well, not until I met the NAACP Vice-Chair Roslyn Brock earlier this year through the local Wichita NAACP Branch. I't appears the the NAACP may be well on it's way towards the generational change it needs, now the Julian Bond is leaving the Board Chair, and current NAACP National Board Vice-Chair Roslyn Brock would be the person best suited to take the NAACP to the next level. Roslyn M. Brock is Vice Chairman of the National Board of Directors for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She made history in February 2001 when she was unanimously elected Vice Chairman of the National Board of Directors at the age of 35. She was the youngest person and the first woman elected to this post in the organization’s history. Read more HERE With NAACP Vice-Chair Roslyn Brock and the new NAACP President & CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous at the reins, the NAACP will be moving full speed ahead .... 
If the NAACP Board makes a ill advised and dramatic mistake and choices some old fart from its aging board, rather than NAACP Vice-Chair Roslyn Brock to replace Julian Bond, it will be moving backwards instead of fowards. It's time time for the change. Barack Obama has shown us that, I hope the NAACP National board has gotten the message. Black folks want and need change.
More on this breaking story later!
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Tue Nov 18, 2008 at 15:16:15 PM EST
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| Check out the new Book, Saving Our Daughters. Join me on Wednesday night on my blogtalk radio program as Curtis Benjamin Co-Author of the book joins us for an open and honest dialogue about the new book, Saving Our Daughters. 
October was Domestic Violence Prevention month, and several of the male celebrity contributors to the book Saving Our Daughters: From A Man's Point of View, including T.I. and Gary Sturgis, participated in a national media campaign that provided hope to abuse survivors, while challenging men to seek help. Inspired by the leadership and success of the men associated with the book, a few female celebrities will now pick up the torch and continue to champion the messages conveyed in Saving Our Daughters throughout November, which marks the official launch of the book.
Female celebrity participants lending a hand to encourage and inspire young women and single mothers this month will include Denise Vasi, from the popular soap opera "All My Children," entrepreneur, Lisa Wu Hartwell, of the Bravo TV show "Real Housewives of Atlanta," Keshia Knight Pulliam of Tyler Perry's House of Pain, Treynce, a Top-5 finalist from the second season of "American Idol" and poet Georgia Me, who was featured in Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam. While these women are all different, they share a passion for empowering others through open and honest dialogue about their positive and negative life experiences.
H/T Monica and April M320 Consulting
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Tue Nov 18, 2008 at 10:52:24 AM EST
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 Blacks Hate Gays! Is that what some people in LGBT want to read? Or, here is another one, Wanda Sykes is gay! and...? AAPP: I'm not into gay bashing, and I'm not into LGBT community leaders who are now bashing Black Folks, and connecting Obama to that vote. Candidly, I feel many in the LGBT community need to stop blaming California's Black Voters for Prop 8. Those who are blaming Black Voters for California Prop 8 Loss are wrong. Stop Scapegoating Black Folk on Proposition 8 This national effort by many in the LGBT communities, to take to the streets to protest the Nov 4 decisions that some say, blindsided the LGBT communities in California, Florida, Arizona, Arkansas and beyond is noteworthy. I must say the national LGBT rights organizations need to do more in the African American LGBT communities. But, it seems to me that everyone and their mama in the LGBT communities are attacking and lashing out at African Americans. And are now using Wanda Sykes as the poster child for the black against black beat down. I'm tired of the Proposition 8 blame game, even with black folks. This silly talk by some, is just that, silly talk, the Facts Belie the Scapegoating of Black People for Proposition 8. At the same time, we cannot deny that Black homophobia is big in our communities. In many ways I agree with the folks at the People For The Ameican Way, this attitude by some in the LGBT communities is deeply wrong and offensive — not to mention destructive to the goal of advancing equality. The LGBT-equality movement needs to recognize that its real enemies are the religious right organizations and leaders who oppose gay and lesbian equality and who devise and fund strategies like Prop 8. And we must commit now to building long-term partnerships with equality-affirming African American clergy and community leaders that will allow us to advance the progressive values that we share. More HERE |
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Tue Nov 18, 2008 at 07:44:57 AM EST
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| I just finished taking a third read of Michael Fauntroys' Open Letter to Black America after reading it last night on my blogtalkradio program. Micheal Fountroy ask that we please forgive him for hitting the “pause” button on our (Barack Obama) celebration, but a reality check may well be required in these exciting times. He writes, " The reality of politics and race are such that having a Black President will mean little if there are no changes in the material conditions of Black America. I hate being the skunk at the party, but the reality of politics may be lost on some. Politics is about dividing government resources to competing interests. Those resources could be about who gets tax cuts and who doesn't; who goes to prison and for how long or who gets a second chance; who gets a student loan and who doesn’t. Please remember this as you celebrate the historic and earthshaking election of Barack Obama as our president. Politics is serious business and an election is just the start of the fight."
He also points out, "Obama’s election will prove to be a grand, yet symbolic, achievement if there are no changes in public policy that has hurt Black communities around the country. The list of issues is legion. The tax and fiscal policies that have only expanded the gap between rich and poor, home lending policies that saddled African Americans with a disproportionately high levels of sub-prime loans which removed billions of dollars of wealth from Black households, and prison-industrial complex crime control policies that warehouse African Americans are but a few of the issues that must be addressed. The over incarceration of Black people (and, oh by the way, Black women comprise the fastest growing segment of America’s prison population) is having a devastating impact on Black communities and all the personal responsibility talk in the world won’t fix the problem if the policies remain the same. We must focus more attention on diversion programs and other efforts that give people real second chances." AAPP: I recommend that you read the rest of this and many other articles on his website. Yes, Michael is telling it like it is. As he says, no spin. No stupidity. No axes to grind. No hidden agendas. Just provocative political commentary. More HERE
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Sun Nov 16, 2008 at 05:22:31 AM EST
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| It started with the infammatory assassination remarks of Hillary Clinton, the Sarah Palin and John McCain comments that, Barack Obama, then a United States Senator, was somehow un-American and paling around with home grown U.S. terrorist. Yes, many of us saw this coming. Now the bigots are coming out throughout America. the unfortunate thing is Hillary Clinton, who is now being considered by Obama for the Sec. of State job, created part of the atmosphere of hate and talk of assassination during the primaries. Now as reported by the Chicago Tribune, the bigotry has exploded since Barack Obama's victory. Not many bloggers or news outlets covered the story of the black church in Springfield, Massachusetts being burnt down to the ground on election night. One has to wonder is this the post-racial America some have reported about?Speaking of reporting, The Huffington Post reports, the presidential election is spurring hundreds of race threats and race crimes. There have been Cross burnings. Schoolchildren chanting "Assassinate Obama." Black figures hung from nooses. Racial epithets scrawled on homes and cars. Incidents around the country referring to President-elect Barack Obama are dampening the postelection glow of racial progress and harmony, highlighting the stubborn racism that remains in America. From California to Maine, police have documented a range of alleged crimes, from vandalism and vague threats to at least one physical attack. Insults and taunts have been delivered by adults, college students and second-graders. There have been "hundreds" of incidents since the election, many more than usual, said Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate crimes. One was in Snellville, Ga., where Denene Millner said a boy on the school bus told her 9-year-old daughter the day after the election: "I hope Obama gets assassinated." That night, someone trashed her sister-in-law's front lawn, mangled the Obama lawn signs, and left two pizza boxes filled with human feces outside the front door, Millner said. She described her emotions as a combination of anger and fear. "I can't say that every white person in Snellville is evil and anti-Obama and willing to desecrate my property because one or two idiots did it," said Millner, who is black. "But it definitely makes you look a little different at the people who you live with, and makes you wonder what they're capable of and what they're really thinking." Potok, who is white, said he believes there is "a large subset of white people in this country who feel that they are losing everything they know, that the country their forefathers built has somehow been stolen from them." Read MORE |
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Sat Nov 15, 2008 at 12:42:04 PM EST
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| Tell me it's not true. No Hillary Rodham Clinton has not emerged as a top contender to be Secretary of State. I know it is said, keep your friends close but your enemies closer, but why keep a color aroused bigot so close? Here is the challenge folks, if chosen by Barack, won't Hillary just gain international experience for two or three years, create a diversion, disagree with Obama on a policy issue, resign as Secretary of State, and run against him in 2012? The PUMA's and the People of Color PUMA (pocpuma)would love it. One also has to wonder why Barack obama would nominate Clinton, who voted to authorize the war in Iraq? Would she be able to send the message of change throughout America and around the world? I guess some have forgotten the racial tensions and disgraceful bigoted campaigning caused by Hillary. I'm reminded of Doug Thompson and his blog post on the blog, Capitol Hill Blue, in April of this year, when he wrote, "Hillary Clinton won Pennsylvania because she pandered to the overt racism that exists among blue collar whites as well as the latent racism in too many others. She won because the bulk of her appeal comes from the less-educated, the less-tolerant and the less-intelligent among us. If you're a stupid, illiterate, gun-totin' white hick you probably voted for Hillary. And so did your ignorant, baby-popping, big-haired wife as well as that bleached-blond bar maid that you're seeing on the side." More HERE Get this folks, as reported by the LA Times, she flew into Chicago to meet privately with President-elect Barack Obama, former advisors to the senator from New York said. More HERE I wonder if Hillary was coming clean with Barack obama about her lies during the primaries about her coming under sniper fire in Bosnia? If Obama is going to select her, he probably needs to watch the television footage showing otherwise. The fact of the matter is Hillary Clinton has no foreign policy experience. She traveled with her husband, shaking hands and smiling.  Lisa Lerer at Politico.com reports many Women's groups are worried with the early indications that men might dominate the hierarchy of Obama administration. There is a growing chorus, as reported by Politico, who are pushing for Hillary Rodham Clinton for Secretary of State post.
“There’s definitely been a reaction to the few groups that have been named so far,” said Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women. “I agree with those who are concerned that it would have been nice to see more women.”
Politico also notes that women’s rights advocates acknowledge it’s still early in the transition process, but they say early staff picks and the lists of rumored Cabinet nominees send the wrong signal.
“It’s appropriate that Obama’s vetting Clinton, but she’s one women,” said Amy Siskind, co-founder of The New Agenda, a nonpartisan women's rights group founded by former Clinton supporters. “We want to see parity in the representation of women in the Cabinet.” AAPP: Speaking of growing Chorus line, get this folks, after Hillary and Bill Clinton's massive color aroused campaigning, now Francis L. Holland, who was a former early supporter of Hillary Clinton, turned Barack Obama supporter, is now supporting Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State. Holland, who first wrote that he agreed with Latino leaders that Bill Richardson would make an "excellent pick," now says, Sen. Clinton would make a "good" leader in that position. Hmmm... it seems that Barack Obama and blogger Francis Holland agree on one thing, they both want, the "good" color aroused leader in that critical position. I guess Francis is right, the Obama/Clinton Fix is In! It is just so surprising that Barack Obama and Francis L. Holland, founder of the American Journal of Color Arousal appear to see it the same way. They seem to feel that the best way of fighting an American Political landscape that is infested with color aroused bigotry, racism and xenophobia would be to promote those who exhibit those very traits to the highest cabinet position in America. Hmmm... UPDATE: Check out the post by Black Agenda Report, Managing Editor, Bruce Dixon, who writes about Holding The Obama Adminstration Accountable: 
Bruce Dixon writes, "With the election results a week old, the worst thing we can do now is sit back for too long admiring the new president, his family and ourselves for electing him, and "wait and see what he does." No new administration waits till being sworn in before deciding and enacting its priorities on war, peace, credit, housing, jobs or heath care. While many are still boasting, roasting, coasting and toasting the election results the business of governing has already begun. So too the business of holding the new administration accountable must begin without delay."Read more... |
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Thu Nov 13, 2008 at 12:42:34 PM EST
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AAPP says: Check out Casey Gane-McCalla's thoughts on if Sasha and Malia and Hannah Montana. Sasha and Malia Shouldn’t Be on Hannah Montana | |
